A cow suicide, a revolving door rescue, and the birth of a bright purple pig are starting to make Kate Saxee wonder if taking a job in her small hometown of Branson Falls, Utah, was such a great idea. As The Branson Tribune editor, Kate covers local news, which, more often than not, involves her accident-prone mom. Nothing truly newsworthy has ever happened in the quiet town until local teen Chelsea Bradford turns up dead in a Branson Falls lake.

The police rule Chelsea’s death an accident, but Kate suspects there’s more to the story—and she’s not the only one. Two of Branson’s most eligible bachelors are determined to help her solve the crime—among other things. But the small town social network is faster than Twitter, and gossip about Kate’s love-life is quickly branding her the Branson Falls hussy.

As Kate learns more about Chelsea, she discovers that plenty of people are trying to cover up the real story behind the girl’s death—including Chelsea’s parents. Now Kate has to juggle work, men, her mom’s most recent disaster involving a low-speed John Deere Combine chase on the freeway, and fend off the Mormons heaven-bent on saving her soul—all while solving Chelsea’s murder. Dealing with this is going to require a lot of coffee, chocolate frosted donuts, Neil Diamond's greatest hits, and a slew of words not on the town approved imitation swear list.

This is the type of book I do not often pick up but when I make the choice to do so I am normally happy. With The Devil Drinks Coffee I was more than happy and found myself surprised with just how fun it was. Destiny Ford (well Angela Corbett) is quite amazing and having read her young adult series, I was happy that her addictive writing transitioned from one genre to the next.

Admittedly I do not know much about the Mormon religion/culture but this read was a little glimpse into it. The plot was not centered on the religion but it gave everything an interesting and fun twist, while I got the added bonus of learning a little about Mormons! There were funny like things thrown in as well, showing that people can take their religion seriously and still have a little *cough coffee cough* in their hot chocolate thermos. The Devil Drinks Coffee's plot was fun, fresh and kept the mystery flowing. I spent so much time turning the pages trying to figure it out. There are clues here and there but I will admit, I was clueless for most of the read. Great job on the confusing me with this one.

Kate rocks in so many ways! Kate is awesomely real, fun and easy to like. I found myself instantly happy that because despite my adult status, I often find myself just okay with characters in adult books not enjoying them like I did with Kate. This is a girl that I could relate to a little and what wasn't covered by that was covered with her ability to make me laugh. She doesn't have anything against those that are Mormon, she used to be one of those them but she has decided it wasn't for her. Though she does try and keep up with appearances in her home town where being different is just not okay and could mean your end.

Oh, the romance was something else. There was without a doubt two guys wanting Kate's attention, just one was more obvious and one was more tempting. For Kate there was never really any question as to who she was more attracted to but that did not detour the other guy. Drake is used to getting what he wants and despite the fact that Kate thinks his type is cheerleaders and nothing like her, he seems to be determined to have her. I guess I kind of like him but I could never decide what his motives were and if they were good or bad. With Hawke... Well that guy will get your pulse moving. He is the bad boy and is a mystery but for some reason I just liked him more right off the hop. However, the fact that he holds everything back all of the time kind of made me want to kick him. Would I say that there is a triangle? I guess I would have to say no but everyone has their own opinion and I know that there is someone out there that would argue with me.

The Devil Drinks Coffee was a fresh, fun and intriguing read from start to finish. I am excited to see more in this series because honestly what else can go wrong in such a conservative Mormon community? Though with Kate around I am sure something will happen and lets hope this time that her poor disastrous mother isn't the cause of it. Though classified as an adult read, I believe more mature teens would be able to read this. There is less sexual content than new adult but there is some more mature content so it is really a discretion thing. However, if you are looking for a good mystery with characters that will pull you in, The Devil Drinks Coffee should be your next read!

"A hunch?" I widened my eyes. "You expect me to just trust the hunch of some life-size G.I. Joe figurine?"

He grinned. "I'm trusting a woman who seems to think she's Lois Lane, so yeah."

Since Lois and I were both damn good reporters, I wasn't insulted by the reference.

Drake is five years older than me and the biggest womanizer in the state which is saying something since Utah was built by polygamists.

I decided I'd fit in at the state capitol building better if I was wearing a pencil skirt and fitted jacketwhich forced me to sport some Spanx to give the illusion I have a firm butt and thighs. The skirt also meant that in addition to waking up early to drive to the capitol, I'd had to wake up even earlier to shave my legs. Mornings make me angry.

She smiled again. "You two have a fun night." She gave me another hug as she whispered in my ear, "I'd ask if you went out of town to get some protection, but from the looks of him, I think he could probably supply condoms to the whole country."

About the Author

Destiny Ford is a pseudonym for Angela Corbett. Angela graduated from Westminster College with a double major in communication and sociology. She started working as a reporter when she was sixteen and won awards for feature, news, and editorial writing. She has also done freelance writing. In addition to writing, she works as a director of communications and marketing. She loves classic cars, traveling, cupcakes, and U2. She lives in Utah with her extremely supportive husband and their five-pound Pomeranian, Pippin, whose following of fangirls could rival Justin Bieber's.

She writes adult titles under the name Destiny Ford, and YA/NA titles under the name Angela Corbett.

6 comments:

So I have to say, when I started to read what the book was about I had a "what?" Reaction lol. But after reading the rest and your review it sounds like a very interesting read. I haven't read anything by this author yet. I like when the main character is fun and easy to like, it really bothers me when I don't connect or like a main character. Thanks for the review, I will be adding this to my to be read list :)

I haven't read any of Ang's Destiny Ford work, but I've gotten into Eternal Starling. Great review. It gives much more detail than what I've been teased with elsewhere. I'm planning on adding this to my reading list.